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“Is it really that bad?” Propping her guitar up against the wall, Skylar plopped down on the surprisingly comfortable bed. “I mean, it’s been years since Maine Event.”

“Not everywhere is like the Cove.” The sadness was palpable in Elena’s voice as she sat down on the edge of the bed across from Skylar. “Especially in today’s world, there are fan blogs and people who still keep up with all things Maine Event and know everything about us.”

She laughed, but it didn’t sound like her normal laugh. It was sadder.

“Well, not everything between us.”

“Yeah, I’m sure I’d have heard about that if they did.”

Skylar tried to laugh too, but there was nothing funny about the situation. If things had gone the way they had planned, she and Elena could very easily still be together right now. They could be celebrating over a decade of loving each other. But that wasn’t in the cards life had dealt them.

Elena lay down on the bed and rolled her head toward Skylar. Her brown eyes were finally starting to look less sad.

“Did you know that people speculate about us?”

“Yep.”

“Really?”

Skylar tried to play it cool, tried to act like her friends back home hadn’t shown her the fan-made videos of her and Elena on tour together back in the day. The videos might be grainy, but the memories weren’t.

Slowly, Skylar laid down and propped herself up on her elbow. Elena did the same, rolling over onto her side to face Skylar.

“Yeah. They said we had chemistry.”

“We sure did.”

“And,” Elena’s eyes lowered, “they wonder if we were ever together.”

“Mmm.”

Skylar inched her hand closer to Elena’s on the bed; all the while, their eye contact never wavered. She knew if they didn’t separate soon that they would end up naked under the covers in no time at all. The chemistry was still very much still there between them, and Skylar wanted more than anything to touch Elena again.

As their fingers intertwined, Elena leaned in and kissed her again. It was more passionate than the kiss at the bar. The kiss was also less rushed yet more desperate. Skylar let Elena’s tongue into her mouth as she slowly rolled over onto her back. She felt as if her mind and heart were being torn into pieces.

Because as much as she wanted to have sex with Elena, she knew it wouldn’t help either of them mentally. There was still so much baggage between them; baggage they simply couldn’t fuck away.

“Ellie,” Skylar whispered as she gently pushed back on Elena’s shoulders, “we can’t.”

“I know,” she whispered back as she hopped off the bed. She straightened her clothes and ran her hand through her hair. “I’m sorry.”

“It takes two to tango.”

“Yeah, and we’re just dancing with our hands tied.”

Skylar sighed and stood. “I know.”

“Well, I should go. There’s food and drinks in the kitchen down here, or you’re welcome to anything I have upstairs. Which I’ll admit isn’t much.”

“Thanks, Elena.”

She smiled softly at her. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you in the morning. Rehearsal starts at ten.”

“See you then.”

Skylar waited until Elena was out the door and back up the stairs before collapsing back into the bed. Even years later, she still couldn’t explain the pull that always brought her and Elena together when they were alone together. No number of songs could ever describe her love for Elena accurately. But Skylar would damn sure try until the end of her life.

Jumping out of bed, Skylar took her guitar and a notebook out of the case before walking outside. The moonlight always seemed to inspire her songwriting. She sat cross-legged on the outdoor couch as she placed her trusted notebook beside her. Skylar had always been a songwriter, but once she left Elena, she always lost her muse.